President Barack Obama holds his shave ice as he exits Island Snow to greet people waiting outside, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. (Image source: AP/Carolyn Kaster)
While President Barack Obama continued what the New York Times called a "real and rare vacation in Hawaii," he used his Weekly Address to accuse Republicans in Congress of going home for the holidays while less-fortunate Americans suffer. (Bold added):
U.S. President Barack Obama gestures on the second green at Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course January 2, 2014 in Kaneohe, Hawaii. (Image source: Pool/Getty Images)
Just a few days after Christmas, more than one million of our fellow Americans lost a vital economic lifeline – the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet while they look for a job. Republicans in Congress went home for the holidays and let that lifeline expire. And for many of their constituents who are unemployed through no fault of their own, that decision will leave them with no income at all.We make this promise to one another because it makes a difference to a mother who needs help feeding her kids while she’s looking for work; to a father who needs help paying the rent while learning the skills to get a new and better job. And denying families that security is just plain cruel. We’re a better country than that. We don’t abandon our fellow Americans when times get tough – we keep the faith with them until they start that new job.
While the GOP was home for the holidays, how did Obama spend some of his two-week trip across the Pacific? The Times described a bit of it:
He played golf eight out of 14 days. And he and the first lady, Michelle Obama, stepped out for dinner at a few of their favorite restaurants: Alan Wong’s, Morimoto Waikiki (twice!) and Nobu Waikiki.Island Snow, the president’s favorite spot for shave ice — the island’s syrupy, brightly colored and refreshingly sweet version of the snow cone — even had a message board in its back room reminding its employees to “wear Island Snow T-shirts all week long while the president is here!!”
President Barack Obama shakes hands with people waiting to meet him as he holds his shave ice outside Island Snow, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2014. (Image source: AP/Carolyn Kaster)
Last week, Mr. Obama finally joined his daughters, who had been making solo shave ice runs for most of the trip, at the shop, emerging with a cherry and lemon-lime confection in a paper cone.The president wished the crowd a “great 2014” and flashed the Hawaiian “shaka” greeting — an extended thumb and little finger often associated with surf culture — before wandering outside to enjoy his treat.
Here's the clip of Obama's address:
This story has been updated.
(H/T: The Gateway Pundit)
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